President Trump “has made clear he wants to see a permanent cease-fire first, to stop the killing, stop the bloodshed,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
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- Putin announced the ceasefire to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War Two.
- Against a background of increasing impatience from the U.S., the May ceasefire appeared aimed at signalling to President Trump that Russia is still interested in peace.
- Ukrainian President Zelenskyy met Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral.
- Zelenskyy has said Kyiv would be ready for talks with Moscow once a ceasefire deal has stopped the fighting.
WASHINGTON − Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a three-day Ukraine war ceasefire to take place in May, but the White House says it isn’t good enough.
President Donald Trump wants a permanent end to Russia’s war on Ukraine, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House − and he is losing patience with both Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensklyy.
“He wants to see a permanent cease-fire and I understand Vladimir Putin this morning offered a temporary ceasefire,” Leavitt said. “The president has made clear he wants to see a permanent cease-fire first, to stop the killing, stop the bloodshed.”
“While he remains optimistic he can strike a deal, he also is being realistic as well,” Leavitt said. “Both leaders need to come to the table to negotiate their way out of this.”
Ceasefire to honor World War Two victory
Putin announced the ceasefire in Moscow to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War Two.
The Kremlin said the 72-hour ceasefire would run for three days either side of May 9, when Putin will be hosting international leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping for lavish celebrations to commemorate victory over Nazi Germany.
“All military actions are suspended for this period. Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example,” it said in a statement.
“In the event of violations by the Ukrainian side, Russia’s armed forces will give an adequate and effective response.”
There was no immediate resply from Kyiv to the unilateral truce announcement – the second by Putin in quick succession, following a 30-hour Easter ceasefire that each side accused the other of violating countless times.
Against a background of increasing impatience from the United States, both moves appeared aimed by the Kremlin leader at signalling to President Trump that Russia is still interested in peace.
Ukraine and its European allies say they do not believe this, while pushing back against U.S. proposals they see as skewed towards Russia.
The latest announcement came after Trump criticised Putin for a deadly Russian attack on Kyiv last week and voiced concern at the weekend that Putin was “just tapping me along.” Washington has repeatedly threatened to abandon its peace efforts unless there is real progress.
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Ukraine: Putin peace talk ‘just plain lies’
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, who met Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome on April 26, has said Kyiv would be ready to hold talks with Moscow once a ceasefire deal has stopped the fighting.
Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said on April 28 that continuing Russian attacks contradicted the Kremlin’s statements about wanting peace.
“Russia is not ceasing fire at the front and is attacking Ukraine with Shaheds right now,” Yermak wrote on Telegram before the ceasefire announcement, referring to Iranian-made drones widely used by Russian forces.
“All the Russians’ statements about peace without ceasing fire are just plain lies.”
Leavitt, blaming Russia’s invasion on former President Joe Biden, called the war “an incredibly difficult situation and conflict.” Trump, she said, “is focused on solving this problem.”
Contributing: Reuters